Can base with vertical seal on side of can

ABSTRACT

A coaster type device of cup design that will seal on the vertical side of a can and or container, here forth “can”, made of a potentially corrosion prone material that may cause unwanted marks on a surface the can could be placed. The device would be manually applied to the can and would stay on the can due to mechanical interface and frictional fit between the seal area and the vertical side of the can. The seal on the can and the solid physical coaster would produced a contained volume of the can base from the sealed surface down blocking any unwanted transfer from the can to the surface it would be placed.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of Provisional Application No. 61/338,158 filed on Feb. 16, 2010 by the aforementioned applicants Lisa R. McDonough, Natick Mass. and William F. McDonough, Natick, Mass. With the following title: Can Base With Vertical Seal on Side of Can: A coaster type device that will seal on the vertical side of the can and or container, here forth “can”, made of a potentially corrosion prone material that may cause unwanted marks on a surface the can could be placed.

Can base with vertical seal on side of can: a coaster type device that will seal on the vertical side of the can and or container, here forth “can”, made of a potentially corrosion prone material that may cause unwanted marks on a surface the can could be placed. The coaster type device would be of cup design that will seal on the vertical side of the can, here forth “can base with vertical seal”. It would be manually applied to the can and would stay on the can due to mechanical interface and frictional fit between the seal area and the vertical side of the can. The seal on the can and the solid physical coaster would produced a contained volume of the can base from the sealed surface down. The can base with vertical seal would inhibit any marking agent due to can corrosion or other unwanted material that may be on the lower bottom part of the can, prior to application of this device. The seal produced on the vertical side of the can by the can base with vertical seal would reduce potential corrosion of the can below the seal.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

REFERENCE TO A SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM, LISTING COMPACT DISC APPENDIX

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates generally to the use of a coaster type device for canisters and or cans more specifically to the use of these canisters and or cans in an environment where any corrosion from the canister and or can would cause unwanted marks on a surface it would be placed. There has long been usage of coasters for beverage use and condensation control to the surface from these containers; this invention could be used for this application but is intended to keep corrosion contained and blocked from the surfaces. Several devices are known to the applicants that are intended to address the issue of corrosion to surface contact and are listed in the following prior art.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,285,996 to Waller issued on Feb. 15, 1994 describes a lower rim for metal cans that would provide a barrier for potential corrosion materials to be transferred to a surface. Waller's device only covers the rim of a can base and does not cover other potential areas of the can that could cause corrosion to transfer to a surface. Waller's device could potentially allow for corrosion to weep past the device or from the can itself and onto the surface it is placed as it does not cover the entire can base.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,842,675 to Davitt issued on Dec. 1, 1998 describes a flexible base cover for metal containers that would cover the base of a metal can and could be used on different diameter cans. Davitt's cover, if constructed of the appropriate material, could provide a barrier to the surface from the entire bottom of the can but does not seal on the side of the can. This lack of a seal could lead to weeping of corrosion over the top of the base cover and onto the surface.

It is such the intent of this invention to cover the entire base of the can and provide a seal, on the vertical side of the can to contain any corrosion in the volume below the seal on the can. The invention can be designed to fit and seal to a fixed diameter of can, but not limited to any diameter in particular. The invention would contain any corrosion below the seal in the volume mentioned from direct contact to the surface or weeping past the seal of the invention onto the surface it would be placed.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention encompasses the aforementioned objectives and those that become evident from the interpretation of the entire specification.

The can base with vertical seal on the side of a can would provide a coaster type device to be applied to the bottom of a can to be used in a humid environment that may cause unwanted corrosion of the can and cause marking to the surface that the can would be placed. The can base with vertical seal on the side of the can would be comprised of a rigid base, a vertical side wall and a sealing surface that would make contact with the side of the can to be protected. The can base's physical attributes would develop a volume of space between the sealing area, the vertical side wall of the can base and the bottom of the can base around the can it is applied to. This would provide an enclosed space to which any substance that may have been on the bottom of the can or that may develop, such as corrosion, to stay contained. This volume would be defined by the sealing surface at its fixed vertical height and the interior walls, this includes both the base and side walls.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 is the can base with vertical seal assemble on a can—front view

FIG. 2 is the can base with vertical seal front view

FIG. 3 is the can base with vertical seal plan view

FIG. 4 is a cross section of the can base with vertical seal showing seal area,

FIG. 5 is the can base with vertical seal plan view showing cross section line

FIG. 6 is an isometric view of the can base with vertical seal

FIG. 7 is an isometric view of the can base with vertical seal assembled on a can.

FIG. 8 is the can base with vertical seal assembled on a can showing the seal and enclosed volume developed by the invention and the can. This example shows the invention made from a single material.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to the drawings and particularly FIG. 1 you will see the invention 1 applied to a can 2 and this would be the normal state of use for the invention on the can providing protection to a surface it would be placed; this can also be seen in FIG. 7 with the invention 9 applied to a can 10. The invention will have a vertical height such that an adequate seal is formed on the side of the can 3 but not limited to any height on the side of the can producing a contained volume of the bottom of the can 4. See FIG. 8. The invention may be developed to fit any diameter can, it would be fit to, as long as and adequate seal and volume is produced.

As you can see the invention can be of simple form as depicted in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 with basic round construction to fit the can's diameter or in a form fit to the required design aspect. The exterior form could be changed in order to be more appealing to mass market as long as a seal is developed on the vertical side 3 of the can and the volume produced 4 is adequate to keep the unwanted materials off of the surface it is to be placed on and to ensure that any potentially unwanted corrosion could be contained and prevent any of the unwanted material from weeping past the seal. See FIG. 8.

The invention could be manufactured from a singular plastic of a durometer rigid enough to hold it's design form over time and to develop the necessary sealing on the side of the can 3, see FIG. 8, or of two or more materials where the major material 5 see FIG. 4 would constitute the rigid coaster cup portion 6, see FIG. 6, and the subsequent materials 7 see FIG. 4 and would make up the sealing component of the invention 3, See FIG. 8. Both of the methods would utilize materials with adequate barrier properties to operate in an environment the can would be used and provide the sealing and barrier properties inferred in the description.

In the method of manufacture of a single material 8, See FIG. 8, the invention could be produced using many manufacturing processes familiar to someone skilled in the art, such as plastic injection molding, machining and other readily commercially available systems.

In the method using multiple materials 9, See FIG. 4, someone skilled in the art could use similar production methods as noted in the previous paragraph as well a multiple shot injection molding and assembly operations. In the method of manufacture for the multiple materials the invention could be manufactured in a manner that the two materials would bond to a degree higher than just mechanical bonding or the multiple materials could be made in separate operations. In the case of manufacturing in separate operations the materials could be assembled mechanically and held together by a physical interface or by adhesives, both scenarios would ensure proper sealing as described in the specification. This sealing material would be of a durometer that would be flexible enough to deflect on application and removal but would form a seal and frictional fit to keep the invention on the can. In both manufacturing cases the material selection by someone skilled in the art would be such to provide proper barrier properties, to be non-abrasive to the surfaces to be used on, and non-corrosive to the can. 

1. A can base to prevent and block the transfer of corrosion from a can to a surface it would be placed on by the means of containing the volume of the bottom of the can constituted by a seal on the vertical side of the can in conjunction with the physical attributes supplied by the vertical and horizontal wall components of the invention.
 2. The can base of claim 1 would seal on the side of the can reducing the moisture and other environmental elements, caustic to the can, to reach the base of the can below the seal potentially reducing corrosion to the can.
 3. The can base of claim 1 would seal on the side of the can producing said volume and contain any corrosion and or elements in the volume and keeping the unwanted material off of the surface the can would be placed.
 4. The can base of claim 1 being made of materials that are non abrasive to the surface it would be placed, would reduce the scratching and damage to said surface. 